Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is on cusp of another milestone in the longest format when he takes to the field against Bangladesh in first Test at Holkar Stadium in Indore starting Thursday. The two teams are scheduled to play two Tests and the second will be a historic Day-Night Test at the iconic Eden Gardens. The hosts clinched the T20I series 2-1 and will be eager for similar level of performances in Tests as well.
For that to happen, premier spinner Ashwin will once again have to be at the top of his game. The tweaker is set to add another feather into his already illustrious cap in the in the upcoming clash. Ashwin is just one wicket away from completing 250 Test wickets at home and he will become only the third Indian ever to achieve this feat.
250+ wickets by an Indian at home
350: Anil Kumble
265: Harbhajan Singh
249: R Ashwin
Overall, Ashwin currently takes the fourth spot in the list of most wickets taken by an Indian. Kumble leads the way with 619 scalps while Kapil Dev comes a distant second with 434 wickets. Harbahajan and Ashwin complete the top four with 417 and 357 wickets respectively.
Ashwin will be eager to add to his tally and fire India to another win at home. Despite the gulf in class between two teams, India are not taking the visitors lightly and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane even fired a warning to teammates ahead of clash.
“Bangladesh is a very good team. We played very well against South Africa but that’s past now. With (World) Test Championship, every match is equally important. We like to take one game at a time which is Indore now,” vice-captain Rahane told reporters on Tuesday.
“We completely respect the Bangladesh team and we are going to play to our strength rather than thinking about theirs,” he added.
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